The siblings’ mother, 23-year-old Chelsea Thornton, was arrested on Oct. 17 on two counts of first-degree murder.

New Orleans police said Thornton admitted in a recorded interview to shooting her 3-year-old son, Kendall Adams, and drowning her 4-year-old daughter, Kelsey Adams, in a bathtub Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the boy was shot with a semi-automatic handgun. In a court record, police said Thornton told investigators that the girl was drowned after the gun failed to fire again.

Investigators said Thornton then left the home, in the 3300 block of Audubon Court, and took a bus to a hospital because she was suffering from stomach pains and a headache. She was arrested and questioned shortly after arriving.

The children's grandmother found the lifeless bodies of the toddlers about 5:30 p.m. that evening and called for help. No one else was at the home, officials said.

"Life has just been snapped away from two beautiful kids. Who knows who's laying there? It could be a governor or a mayor, but now they're gone, and we'll never know," said family friend Teddy Johnson.

Johnson said he was overcome with emotion when he saw the bodies of the children, who shared the same casket, posed embracing one another.

"I've got two small grandkids, and this hurts. I held back my tears when I walked in there," Johnson said. "I cried at my house and I hugged my grandson and said, 'I love you.' He said, 'Why papaw?' and I said, 'I love you,' because nobody gets a chance to hug those kids again and say, 'I love you.'"

Thornton's mother said she had been treated for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but had stopped taking her medication months ago.

The news has spurred people, like community activist Al Mims, who said the crimes must be looked at differently.

"This mother is not a criminal. She is a victim. You got to remember when the children are buried and the trial starts (that) she's not a murderer, she is a victim," Mims said.